In the News (Thu 24 May 18)

Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular population, a part of the Oral tradition or oral history of a particular culture.

The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological goals; only in the 20th century did ethnographers begin to attempt to record folklore objectively.

In mathematics and some related disciplines, the term folklore is used to refer to any result in a field of study which is widely known by practioners of that field, but considered too trivial or unoriginal to be worth publishing by itself in the research literature.

A troll is a member of a fearsome humanoid race from Scandinavianfolklore, and its predecessor Norse mythology, as in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff [1] (http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/billygoats/)," the well-known Scandinavian folk tale in which a troll living under a bridge torments some billy goats that want to cross.

Trolls are one of the most frequent creatures of Scandinavian fairy tales and more common than elves, dwarves, witches and giants (in the fairy tales, there is no clear-cut line between witches and female trolls, nor between male trolls and giants).

Geirr Tveitt was heavily influenced by Grieg's romanticism and cultural exploration of Scandinavianfolklore and Norwegian folk-music.

www.what-means.com /encyclopedia/Troll (1487 words)

Elf - Open Encyclopedia(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

Elves are mythical creatures of Germanic mythology that have survived in northern European folklore.

The Scandinavianelves were of human size, which allowed "normal" human interactions: for example, in Hrólf Kraki's saga, the Danish king Helgi finds an elf-woman on an island and rapes her.

In Scandinavianfolklore, which is a later blend of Norse mythology and elements of Christian mythology, there are several groups of human-like nature spirits than are akin to "elves" in a modern sense.

The folklore of (Republic in northern Europe; achieved independence from Russia in 1917) Finland and of the (Click link for more info and facts about Sami people) Sami people has been much influenced by Scandinavianfolklore, but has retained an independent character.

Perhaps most abundant are the stories about the race of ((Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains) trolls, a cunning but deceitful people, living in the forestlands.

In Scandinavianfolklore, (A creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings) dragons are commonly known as (Click link for more info and facts about lindworm) lindworms, and are monstrous serpents with or without hind legs.

In German and Scandinavianfolklore, an erlking is a mischievous or malevolent sprite which often targets children.

In Scandinavianfolklore, Mylings are (supposedly) the phantasmal incarnations of the souls of unbaptized or murdered children.

Jump to: navigation, search Norse or Scandinavian mythology refers to the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled.

Scandinavian studies is concerned with the study of languages, literature, history, politics, and cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Graduates of the Scandinavian studies program have the qualifications to embark on careers that require skills in the interpretation of information in various media, critical analysis, and effective communication and to continue in graduate programs and professional schools that value an international perspective.

An emphasis on Scandinavian area studies includes the study of Scandinavianfolklore, mythology, history, politics, society, and Baltic studies, with an emphasis in one of these areas.

GERMAN FOLKLORE FACTS AND INFORMATION(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

Christianfolklore includes Knecht_Ruprecht, a rough companion to Santa_Claus; the Lutzelfrau, a Yule witch who must be appeased with small presents; the Osterhase (Easter Hare - the original Easter_Bunny); and Walpurgisnacht, a spring festival derived from pagan customs.

Documentation and preservation of folklore in the states that formally united as Germany in 1871 was initially fostered in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Folklore studies, Volkskunde, were co-opted as a political tool, to seek out (and modify) traditional customs to support the idea of historical continuity with an Aryan culture.

Scandinavian history from the Viking Age to 1720, with an emphasis on the political, social, and economic development of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.

Scandinavian history from the Enlightenment to the Welfare State with emphasis on the political, social, and economic development of the modern Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.

www.washington.edu /students/crscat/scand.html (1955 words)

Troll(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

A troll is a member of a fearsome humanoid race from Scandinavianfolklore, and its predecessor Norse mythology, as in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/billygoats/," the well-known Scandinavian folk tale in which a troll living under a bridge torments some billy goats that want to cross.

What is refered to as giants (jotnar) in Norse mythology, who were sometimes called trolls as well, have their closest mythological descendant in the trolls in Scandinavianfolklore, where "troll" and "giant" are many times used synonymous.

Young Scandinavian children usually understand the concept of trolls, and a way to teach children to brush their teeth is to tell them to get rid of the very small "tooth trolls" that otherwise will make holes in their teeth.

Although, taken singly, the Scandinavian countries are relatively small in population (Sweden at 8.5 million; Denmark at 5 million; Norway at 4 million; Iceland at 250,000), they form as a whole a common linguistic and cultural community of some size.

Admissions are recommended by the Department of Scandinavian to the Dean of the Graduate Division and are subject to limitations on the number of annual admissions to the Department set by the Division.

Courses in Scandinavian literature and culture, ancient and modern, are taught in English.

Scandinavian mythology knows of light-elves (Liosálfar) who dwell in the third space in heaven, dark-elves (Döckálfar) and fl-elves (Svartalfar).

In Scandinavianfolklore, which is a later development from Norse mythology that blends in elements of Christian mythology, there are several groups of human-like nature spirits than are akin to "elves" in a modern sense, called tomtar, vittror, and älvor.

What remained of the belief in Elves in German folklore was that they were mischievous pranksters that could cause disease to cattle and people, and bring bad dreams to sleepers by sitting on them.

Forms and themes of Scandinavian children's literature from the nineteenth century to the present.

Works by Scandinavian writers of the nineteenth and twentieth century reflecting the role of woman in literature.

The Scandinavian or the Nordic States and international relations with emphasis on their roles in the major issues and conflicts of the twentieth century and their participation in international organizations.

Urban Legends  Modern folklore stories such as the Kentucky Fried Rat, the Hook, the psycho babysitter, sexual references in Disney films, the sperm on the cheek cell culture, Richard Gere and the gerbil, etc. Check out The Urban Legends Page for a good reference of types.

www.ststp.com /Archives/Scandinavian/Folklore (5261 words)

NIX FACTS AND INFORMATION(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

The Scandinavian ''nÃ¤cken'' or ''nÃ¸kken'' was a male water spirit who played enchanted songs on the violin, luring women and children to drown in lakes or streams.

The modern Scandinavian names are derived from an Old_Norse ''nykr'', meaning "river horse." Thus, likely the brook horse preceded the personification of the nix as the "man in the rapids".

If you brought the nix a treat of three drops of blood, a fl animal, some brÃ¤nnvin (Scandinavian vodka) or snus (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach you his enchanting form of music.

www.witwib.com /index.php?s=nix (866 words)

Madison Wisconsin Scandinavian Music and Dance(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

The Madison Scandinavian dance group is no longer active.

Please check the Folklore Village calendar for any upcoming Scandinavian dance events.

Folklore Village Farm is ~ 6 mi east of Dodgeville, just past Ridgeway.

Children are always welcome at Folklore Village events; however, supervision is the responsibility of the family.

Alcohol, smoking and pets are not permitted in or near any Folklore Village buildings.

www.folklorevillage.org /scandinv.html (501 words)

Elf - the free encyclopedia(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

Swedish, singular älva) were stunningly beautiful girls who lived in the forest with an elven king.

Post-Tolkien literary elves (popularized by the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game) tend to be human-sized or only slightly smaller than humans, and tend also to be capable warriors, especially skilled in

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy focuses heavily on a long-lived, fair-skinned, magical race known as the Sithi, which are described as elves in all but name.

Stephen Mitchell, Professor of Scandinavian and Folklore, studied Anthropology and Scandinavian Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley, Lunds Universitet in Sweden, and the University of Minnesota.

His courses include Folklore and Mythology 100 An Introduction to Folklore and Mythology", Folklore and Mythology 107 a and b "Witchcraft", Literature and Arts A-78 The Vikings and the Nordic Heroic Tradition and Foreign Cultures 78 Culture-Building and the Emergence of Modern Scandinavia".

He is one of the Curators of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Head Tutor of Scandinavian, and the former Master of Eliot House.

www.fas.harvard.edu /~folkmyth/MitchellPage.htm (657 words)

Folklore(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-07)

Folklore is the ethnologyethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular ethnicityethnic population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture.

The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological goals; only in the 20th century did Ethnographyethnographers begin to attempt to record folklore objectively.

Sometimes "folklore" is religious in nature, like the tales of the WalesWelsh Mabinogion or those found in IcelandIcelandic Norse Mythologyskaldic poetry.

In Scandinavianfolklore, a "household spirit" responsible for the care and prosperity of a farm.

Sometimes the offering themselves could backfire: in another tale, a grateful farmer gives his nisse a pair of nice white boots, and afterward the nisse refuses to go out into the rain to stable the horses for fear of getting his new boots dirty.

The folklore roots of the nisser extend to Germany, where they grew out of the legends of St. Nicholas.

allows you and your family to dive into Scandinavian traditions built around the longest day of the year (in Scandinavia this means the sun never sets) with dance, music, food, crafts and cultural exchanges.

The Midsummer pole is an integral part of the Folklore Village Midsummer tradition.

The ensemble plays older forms of Scandinavian folk music such as the Swedish polska and gånglåt and the Norwegian pols and springar as well as more contemporary dance tunes such as the schottis and hambo.

Advanced language classes (formerly Scandinavian 101, 103 and 104) will meet on Tuesdays as one class of 100B for a lecture in which linguistic and cultural issues, text analysis, reading, writing and grammar will be covered, and on Thursdays each language group will meet separately with a GSI for a discussion session.

The course is intended as an introduction to the major genres of Scandinavianfolklore, focusing where possible on their use in context.

The Scandinavian 300B course is the second part of the department's pedagogical training series.